Monday, March 22, 2010

Limited Tickets Available for Convention Attendees and Chicago Comic Fans, Event By Lionsgate, IGN, and C2E2

The eagerly anticipated movie Kick-Ass, directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Nicolas Cage, will receive a red carpet premiere in Chicago, IL on Thursday, April 15, 2010. The film, which opens nationwide on April 16, 2010, is based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr. The Chicago premiere of the movie occurs on the eve of the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), which takes place April 16-18 at the McCormick Place Convention Center. Selected cast members will participate in the Chicago red carpet premiere, and the screening will be a destination for press and professionals. Tickets will be made available on IGN.com and C2E2.com in the coming weeks for comics fans and C2E2 attendees wishing to attend.

Then, on April 16, the day after the premiere, C2E2 attendees will have an opportunity to meet cast members from Kick-Ass when they participate in an autographing session at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. Details as to the time and location of this signing are forthcoming on C2E2.com.

"We're very proud to announce this special premiere of Kick-Ass with our friends at Lionsgate and IGN," C2E2 Show Manager Lance Fensterman said. "C2E2 is a celebration of the best of comics and popular entertainment, and Kick-Ass perfectly represents this convergence. The fact that both the film and C2E2 are debuting on the same day is nothing short of fantastic good fortune!"

Fans wanting to learn more about Chicago's Kick-Ass premiere and C2E2 in general are encouraged to visit the show's official site, www.C2E2.com, as well as its official blog, www.mediumatlarge.net. Tickets to C2E2 are available now on its official site, and fans are encouraged to purchase theirs early to guarantee admission.

About Kick-Ass:“How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?” When Dave Lizewski – ordinary New York teenager and rabid comic-book geek dons a green-and-yellow internet-bought wetsuit to become the no-nonsense vigilante, Kick-Ass, he soon finds an answer to his own question: because it hurts. But, overcoming all the odds, the eager yet inexperienced Dave quickly becomes a phenomenon, capturing the imagination of the public. However, he’s not the only superhero out there – the fearless and highly-trained father-daughter crime-fighting duo, Big Daddy and Hit Girl have been slowly but surely taking down the criminal empire of local Mafioso, Frank D’Amico. And, as Kick-Ass gets drawn into their no-holds-barred world of bullets and bloodletting with Frank’s son, Chris, now reborn as Kick-Ass’s arch-nemesis, Red Mist - the stage is set for a final showdown between the forces of good and evil - in which the DIY hero will have to live up to his name. Or die trying…

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, from a screenplay by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, and based on the comic written by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr. Lionsgate and MARV present a MARV Films / Plan B production. www.kickass-themovie.comAbout Lionsgate:Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) is the leading next generation studio with a strong and diversified presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel platform assets, including TV Guide Network in partnership with JPMorgan's One Equity Partners, the Epix multiplatform channel with partners Viacom and MGM, the FEARnet branded horror channel with partners Comcast and Sony, and the KIX and Thrill branded action and horror channels in Asia. Its feature film business has generated more than $400 million at the North American box office in the past year, including such recent hits as PRECIOUS, which has grossed more than $45 million at the North American box office and earned six Academy Award nominations, DAYBREAKERS and BROTHERS. The Company's home entertainment business has grown to more than 7% market share and is an industry leader in its box office-to-DVD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, and quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

About IGN Entertainment:IGN Entertainment, a unit of News Corporation, is the leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 42.9 million unique users worldwide January 2010, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others) is one of the Web's leading videogame information destinations. IGN also owns the leading male lifestyle website AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia.

About The Reed Exhibitions Pop Culture Group:The Pop Culture Group at Reed Exhibitions owns and operates the New York Comic Con (NYCC), the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), and the New York Anime Festival (NYAF). New York Comic Con was launched in 2006 and quickly became a dominant presence in the pop culture world of public events. In 2009, 452 companies exhibited at NYCC for a total of 84,000 square feet of paid exhibit space, and it has been ranked by Crain's New York Business as the second-largest annual event in NYC. C2E2, which will debut April 16 – 18 at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center, is modeled after NYCC and will provide fans the opportunity to meet and greet their favorite writers, creators, and artists, as well as to see, hear and learn about the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. The Pop Culture Group also operates the recently-launched Star Wars Celebration in partnership with the Lucasfilm Ltd. and UFC Fan Expo. Additionally, it holds a strategic partnership with Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in 2008 and will work closely with PAX on the launch of PAX East in Boston in 2010.